B i o g r a p h y
Lauren Saks has been making a career out of music since moving to Nashville in 2011, playing violin/fiddle, mandolin, acoustic guitar, and singing background vocals.
As of January, 2025, Lauren stepped into her newest role as fiddle player for Blake Shelton. She has made tv appearances with his band on Jimmy Kimmel Live and on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, performed as part of a residency at Caesar's Colosseum in Las Vegas, and was showcased during Shelton's Friends and Heroes tour with Deana Carter, Craig Morgan, and Trace Adkins.
Lauren also plays fiddle and mandolin with retired St. Louis Cardinal-turned-country singer, Adam Wainwright. Recent performances included a featured concert accompanied by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra at the Stifle Theater in St. Louis, as well as a spot on The Today Show in May of 2024.
Additionally, Lauren fills in on fiddle, mandolin, and harmony vocals with The Band Perry, having previously performed with Kimberly Perry's solo project. She also spent the fall and winter of 2023 touring with Hailey Whitters, opening for Eric Church, Jelly Roll, and Luke Bryan.
Lauren was a band member of the Grammy-nominated, Canadian Music Hall of Fame artist, Terri Clark for six years, having joined in 2018. With Terri she toured the US in the fall of 2022 and spring of 2023 opening for Reba McEntire. Performances included the Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Garden. Lauren made her Grand Ole Opry debut with Terri in February of 2018, and performed there many more times since.
In early 2023, Lauren performed with Hailey Whitters on Jimmy Kimmel Live after having toured with Hailey the previous year on her headlining tour, as well as on a tour opening for Midland in 2021.
Lauren has performed and/or recorded with a variety of other Nashville artists as well, including 2010 CCMA Female Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year, Victoria Banks, Adam Wakefield (The Voice), and Eric Paslay. She played nightly for years in Nashville's Lower Broadway honky-tonks and continues to perform in venues in and out of town.
In 2012 Lauren toured with the Bluegrass group, The Dixie Bee-Liners, appearing at such venues and festivals as the Carter Family Fold and Grey Fox.
When off the road, Lauren enjoys connecting to her Chicago roots and can be found playing blues and soul music with the Soulshine Family Band. She performs in classical string ensembles for events and concerts as well, and also maintains a private studio of violin students.
Lauren received her master's degree in Commercial Violin Performance from Belmont University in 2016, and her bachelor's degree from Denison University in 2010, having double majored in violin performance and creative writing. At Denison, she was featured as concertmaster and soloist with the Denison orchestra on a performance tour through China, and was also featured in the Denison bluegrass and swing ensembles.
In the fall of 2008, Lauren studied abroad at the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music in The Netherlands.
Lauren is a classically trained violinist from the Chicago area, and has been playing since she was eight years old.
